Improvement in water-wheels



WILLI-AM CROWELL.

Patented May 21,1872.

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an STATES PATENT OFFICE.)

WILLIAM A. OROWELL, OF LIME ROCK, TOWN OF SALISBURY, CONN IMPROVEMENT INWATER-WHEELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 126,877, dated May 21,1872.

Specification describing a certain Improvement relating to Water-Wheels,invented by WILLIAM A. GnowELL, of Lime Rock, in the town of Salisbury,Litchfield county, Connecticut.

y The invention relates to the construction of the chutes and theadjacent parts which guide with the chutes and gate in the properposition relatively thereto. It will be understood that exterior tothese is a scroll or flume, as the case may be, by means of which thewater is presented with its full pressure to the exterior of the gate.Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the same parts. Fig. 3 is acentral vertical section through the same. Fig. 4 is a plan view of oneof the chutes detached. Fig. 5 is a plan view, showing a differentchute, which is substituted at will for that shown in Fig. 4, with theefl'ect of consuming less water and, of course, yielding less power.This Fig. 5 shows the chute in the proper relation to the adjacent partsof the wheel. It will be understood that the form shown in Fig. 4 is tobe used in the same general relation to the other parts; but the form issuch in Fig. 4 as to allow the inlet and discharge of more water. Fig. 6is a plan view of a portion of the wheel. The dotted lines show the formof that portion of the floats which is concealed under the rim.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

A is the shaft, stepped in any ordinary or suitable manner upontheadjustable pivot B, which is firmly fixed ina spider, B bolted upon thelower rim (3 of the casin g which confines the chutes. There is an upperrim, 0 corresponding to the lower rim to which upper rim G is firmlybolted a top plate, 13

, The entire wheel will be referred to, when necessary, by the singleletter M, and the several parts by M M, &c. 7

M is the upper rim of the wheel, and M the lower rim, and m m theseveral floats or buckets. M is a spider or branching frame, whichrigidly connects the upper rim M to the sh aft A.

The several chutes, which guide the water and give it the propertangential direction in flowing inward upon the wheel, will beindicated, when necessary, by the single letter D, and the several partsthereof by D D &c.

Each is confined and released by the introduction and removal of asingle bolt, d, which extends downward through the rims G (la-and alsothrough the top plate B, and through lugs D D formed on the chutes, asshown. At one end of each chute is an ofl'set, d, which forms a properjunction with the fixed part 0 Near the other end of each chute is anoffset, 01 which forms a proper junction with the other end of the fixedpart 0 The fixed parts 0 extend up and down between the rims U and G ofthe chute-frame. They stand between the several points at which thewater is intro duced into the wheel, and their exteriors are carefullyfinished to the outer cylindrical form of the wheeL, The gate appliesand is operated, by turning backward and forward, immediately exteriorto the outer cylindrical faces of these parts 0 The end of each chute Dis flush with and forms practically a continuation of the cylindricalsurface.

The water flowing inward past the gate strikes the exterior of the tailportion D of a chute, and is deflected into a direction tangential tothe wheel. It is guided inward against the wheel by the inner face ofthe next chute. A variation in the form of the chute greatly changes theconsumption of water in the wheel with a given amount of gate. The formof chute shown in Figs. 2 and 4 are identical. With the gate full open alarge quantity of water is allowed to flow inward between the chutes,because of their wide distance apart, as shown in Fig. 2. With the formshown in Fig. 5, a much smaller quantity of water is allowed to flow inbetween the chutes by reason of the reduced distance of the chutes fromeach other.

I proposeto construct a number of different patterns of chutes, D,adapted to match in the same casing G 0 G and to be mutuallyexchangeablethat is to say, all the chutes D in the wheel, Fig. 2,.1naybe removed and their places supplied bythe form of chutes shown inil ig.5, which will require much less water." These being held equally well bythe bolts 01, give the wheel, although otherwise of the same dimensionsas before, capacity for exerting much less power with the same head ofwater, and the same speed, by reason of its greatlyreducedconsumption ofwater.

A wheel with the gate nearly shut uses the water at a greatdisadvantage. There is-a po-- sition of the gate which allows the waterto act with its maximum eifect, and any movement of the gate away fromthis position tends to decrease the effect of the water. My changeablechutes allow the manufacturer of the wheels to readily adapt. his wheels-by the construction simply of onesize of casings, C O and a number ofsets of chutes, D-for the consumption of different quantities of wa terwith a maximum effect. Then, by changing the position of the gate on theexterior, the wheel, whether adapted for large or small quantitles ofwater, may be regulated by varying the quantity of water in the ordinaryway.

It is not intended that the user of the wheel shall, under any ordinaryconditions, change the capacity of a wheel by taking it apart andchanging the chutes after the wheel has been once mounted in positionfor work. It is pen fectly practicable to change these wheels from alimited consumption in summer and fall to a great consumption in winterand spring, and to thus change the wheel from a maximum to a minimum andback again to its original condition each season. Ordinarily, however,the advantage will lie immediately with the manufacturer of the wheel,by allowing him to pro duce wheels at an hours notice of a givendiameter, adapted for any consumption of water, the gain to the userlying mainly in the reduced price at which the wheels may be deliveredand the rapidity with which an order may be filled.

The form of the buckets m is adapted to allow the discharge of the waternot only i11- ward, but also both upward and downward. The form isadapted, as usual, to throw the water backward in its discharge out ofthe wheel at the center, the design being to vent the water both upwardand downward very freely when the wheel is inclosed in an open scroll,so as to allow its discharge in that manner.

It will be readily seen how the removal of the tight casing B and thesubstitution of an open-work frame or spider therefor, and the inclosingof the wheel in a scroll, will allow the water to escape upward with thesame freedom as downward, the wheel being, of course, set at asufficiently low level.

The gate has several peculiarities. Its general form is that of a ring,with openings to admit the water to the wheel. The position of the edgesof the openings is important. I will designate the entire gate by P, oneof the edges of each opening by P and the opposite edge of each openingby P 7 All the edges P are o'f-nniforindistance apart, and are equal innumber to the corre sponding openings in the chute-case, which receivethe water. When the gate is opened by being turned in one direction, soas to uncover the chute-openings by this edge I? of the gate-openings,all the chute-openin gs are uncovered exactly alike. But the other edgesP are not so spaced. There are two of the openings which are wider thanthe others. They are placed opposite to each other. When the gate ismoved in the other direction so as to uncover the apertures from theedges P the difierence is very marked. In such case only two of thechutes are uncovered at a time. These are the chutes which are oppositeto the extra wide openings. The quantity of water admitted to the wheelis, therefore, correspondingly reduced, and. instead of ad mitting thewater to the wheel through all the chutes, it is admitted through thesetwo. Whenever all the chutes are to he used, the gate had better beoperated the other way.

The working of the gate by the governor to open and close the aperturesfrom the edges 1 will be exactly identical with the working of it by thegovernor from the other edges 1?. In both cases the working of the ringin one direction closes the chutes, and in the other direction opensthem, the difference only lying in the fact that in opening from theedge P it only uncovers two chutes, and in opening it from the edges Pit uncovers all the chutes.

The presence of a joint extending quite around a large wheel, above andbelow, induces a large leakage. To reduce this evil I fit the gate sothat it does not rub against the chute-case, and then provideloosely-fitting pieces inside adapted to cover the chute aperturestightly, and to fill up as fast as the surfaces wear away.

Fig. 2 shows this feature of the invention very clearly, the parts pbeing the movable pieces. They are fitted within recesses on the inneror concave face of the ring-gate P, and are held in their properpositions laterally by flanges on the ring-gate, as shown. They are freeto move only inward and outward. This need not be but to a small extent.A slight pressure inward is provided by allowing the pressure of thewater to be felt on a small portion, which projects outward through thebody of the ring-gate, and is packed around in a manner analogous to thepacking of a piston-rod.

It is important that the packing around the small portion, which I willcall 19, shall be tight, or else that a provision be made for theleakage away into the wheel of any water which gets behind the loosepiece 19, and between it and the gate. It is impracticable to make thework perfectly tight, and I therefore provide one or more small holes,not represented, through the movable pieces 1) to allow any water whichgets between it and the body of the gate P to flow freely in.

In practice itis well to have packing around the edge of each of theloose pieces 19, so as to make a packed joint between it and theringgate P. Thus mounted, the pieces 19 press gently but tightly againstthe smooth cylindrical exterior of the chute-case. The force with whichthey press is so gentle as to offer but little resistance to the motionof the ringgate'in opening and closing; but the contact is sufficient toconstitute a practically tight joint.

The buckets or floats m are held in the rims M M by having their edgessunk in grooves provided for the purpose, as shown in section in Fig. 3.The floats are also attached to the top and bottom plates by means offlanges or lugs, not represented, cast on the floats, which strengthenthe floats and are let in the top and bottom plates flush, so as not toimpede the water in its course or operation on the wheel, and set screwsfrom the top and bottom are inserted firmly in the flange or lugs-asuflicient number to make all parts firm. The rims M M have awidthsufficient to hold the floats very firmly, by these means leaving thoseportions of the floats which project inward beyond the rim un supported.

It will be understood that these portions of the floats which comebetween the rims, and consequently are confined in the grooves, aredifferently formed from the portions which project inward beyond therims. The portions between the rims are simply curved, as shown bydotted lines in 'Fig. 6, while the portions which project be'yond therims are bent so that i a cross-section through the bucket shows acurved outline, as seen in twoof the buckets which are sectioned throughthese parts in i Fig. 3. Thecurvature is of course in such diedges P Pof the openings in the ring-gate P,

so that as the gate is opened in one direction it uncovers only aportion of the chutes, substantially as herein specified.

2. The movable pieces mounted in the ring-gate P, and adapted to movetherewith, and to follow up the Wear of the surfaces and form a tightjoint against the chute-case, as

specified.

3. The chute-casing G 0 0 in combination withthc changeable chutes D'andholding means 01, arranged for joint operation, relative ly to eachother and to the inclosed wheel and external gate, as and for thepurposes herein specified.

4. The buckets at, having the form represented and held in grooves inthe rims M M as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of March,1872, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' WILLIAM A.OROWELL.

. Witnesses: SIDNEY J. ENSIGN, J. H. BARNUM.

